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Battle of the Alterac Mountains
Date: 2800 BAC Background As the armies of the Amani Empire broke through the elven defenses along the Elrendar River and approached Silvermoon, the mage tutors of the One Hundred reported that the human spellcasters' training had been completed. Therefore, with the high elves' portion of the agreement satisfied, King Thoradin mustered the armies of Arathor and set off northwards---intent to pass through Chillwind Valley at attack the Amani from the rear. Word reached Thoradin as his forces departed Strom that the elven fortress at Caer Darrow had fallen to the Amani Empire after years of resisting a siege. The survivors of the Quel'dorei army in the southern forest and the defenders of Caer Darrow communicated to the human army that they were gathering at the base of the Alterac Mountains, a few leagues south of Lake Andor. Thoradin responded by requesting the elves hold their position and await his arrival. The First Attack The elves' southern army was attacked on the morning that Thoradin's message to hold position was received. The elven army was in a poor state and lacked the arcanists required to hold off a force the size of which was closing in. The elves did not abandon their position or else the humans would march into a trap. When King Thoradin discovered that the elves were already under attack, he assembled the host of knights from his own Arathi tribe and rode northwards to to reach the elves by the following morning. On his departure, he left the remainder of his army under the command of Lord Ignaeus Trollbane---with any luck they were expected to arrive join the King in three days. The ancient Arathi saga, The Song of Thoradin recounts these events: The sun of the northlands crossed the sky upon the first day. Glorious golden rays shrouded by clouds born from the dust of Amani feet. The shaded foe traversed the Hills of Sorrow with fixed elven eyes upon them. Mighty were the many spears of Silvermoon, mighty and just were the blades of the High-kin as they fell from the Andor-trees upon the Amani. '' ''Bold Thoradin, highest human king, marched forward over the snows of Alterac with his heart beating stronger than any Amani war drum. Far to the eye of man the elven runner Vespelian dashed the seventy leagues between Lake Andor and the Highest King. "Hail, Highest King!" the High-kin runner declared, "Woe upon this day! May it not be forgotten. Blood of many quel'dorei has been spilled this day. The army of the Amani emperor, led from their victory upon the Isle of Darrow now presses upon my kin." Bold Thoradin, shrouded in Arathi gold raised his hand and righteous Trollbane rode forth. Thoradin then prayed befre his army:"Lords of the Sky, give me the wind to speed this journey. Lords of the Earth, soften the stone for the horse hooves. And mighty Tyr, guardian and firebringer, grace upon your children the blessing of being in your sight."'' The Highest King then spoke to the Lord of Clan Trollbane saying, "Good friend, Ignaeus. I go forth with the First Knights of the Arathi-Men. We will reach the High-kin as the Sun wakes on the morrow. I impart to you the privileges of my post. Bring forth the Army of our People in the path the the knights of my banner drive. Make all due haste in the course of seventy leagues hence." And with that, the King of Arathor hoisted his sword to the heavens and shouted to the host of Arathi-Men, "With all speed, children of the Highlands. We ride north! Unfurl the gold banners and fall in behind your king!" With those words, Bold Thoradin galloped north upon the road of Chillwind with his host of knights following hence. The Next Three Days At dawn on the second day, the quel'dorei lines broke and they were forced to fall back to the denser wood---restricting the effectiveness of the trolls' leaps and lunges. Meanwhile, King Thoradin and his knights were riding out of the Chillwind Valley and laying waster to the rear of the Amani's horde. The trolls were ill prepared for the heavily armored humans on horseback. They panicked and fled back into the Sorrow Hills by the late afternoon. That evening, Thoradin convened a council of war with the elven leaders and made plans to pursue the trolls. The following day, the forces of the Elven Alliance attacked the Amani trolls as they should to restore order to their ranks. The fighting would continue for the next two days without pause. The trolls were so numerous that when weariness overtook them they could easily be replaced by others. The human knights preformed well but they grew tired quickly and King Thoradin was forced to cycle them out with elven infantry every few hours. The Final Day The last day of the Battle of the Alterac Mountains is known to troll legend as "Tujai Zin'rohk" or the "First Great Apocalypse." The humans of Stromgarde and Stormwind tend to call it the "Day of Fire and Spears" and the the humans of Lordaeron typically call in the "Golden Day"---referring to the gold upon the banners of Arathor. The Elven Alliance and the Amani trolls paused in the fighting at the end of the of the battle's fourth day. Thoradin was anticipating the arrival of Trollbane and the rest of his forces by mid-morning, but the time came and passed and the army did not yet appear---unfortunately, the Amani Emperor mustered the army of his trolls, which was still substantial in size, and launched a final great attack against the humans and elves. The deeds of the flowing hours were recorded in the Song of Thoradin: The forest barbarians were seen yonder past the Hills of Sorrow. The unkempt hordes were chanting their war songs and lifting their tokens of dark magic to the Sky Lords while damning the name of Guardian-Tyr. The morning sun rose once more into the glassy ocean of heaven and Bold Thoradin strode beneath the banners of golden Arathor and cerulean Silvermoon. The soldiers of his alliance lowered their heads and shouted the king's name to overwhelm the barbarian war calls. Bold Thoradin adorned his aurelian armor and took up his gilded blade. "Warriors of Justice, let this be the last day! Let the sound of battle ring with such brilliance that our victory here shall toll like a bell ringing in a new age for man and elf." The mighty king then turned his eyes to the south, but the distant trees of Chillwind did not stir with the movement of Trollbane and his host of many thousands. And then he turned his eyes to the Sorrow Hills and the trees did stir. The green-skinned trolls bellowed their guttural chorus before leaping into the tree and dashing across the canopies towards the outnumbered allies. ''The Amani-foe lunged upon the army of Thoradin from the dense canopies. The King of Arathor had placed his sword-bearing foot soldiers at the front rank---but all was a depiction to the trollish eyes. For as the trolls fell upon the the men, they stepped back and their elven spear-fellows revealed themselves from behind their human allies and jammed their argent-iron gilded spearshafts forth to the trees. The moss-skinned barbarians fell upon the weapons of the High-kin. They mewled their death cries as they flailed upon the spears, only to have the dismounted Arathi knights run forward and finish them with grey-iron blades."